RESEARCH ARTICLE
Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors: Potential Drug Targets for Psychiatric Disorders
Akito Yasuhara*, a, Shigeyuki Chakib
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2010Volume: 4
First Page: 20
Last Page: 36
Publisher ID: TOMCJ-4-20
DOI: 10.2174/1874104501004020020
Article History:
Received Date: 10/10/2009Revision Received Date: 23/10/2009
Acceptance Date: 30/10/2009
Electronic publication date: 27/5/2010
Collection year: 2010

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGlu receptors) have emerged as new therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, depression and anxiety with their regulatory roles in glutamatergic transmissions. To date, several ligands selective for each mGlu receptor have been synthesized, and pharmacological significances of these ligands have been demonstrated in animal models. Among them, mGlu2/3 receptor agonists have been proven to be effective for treating schizophrenia and anxiety disorders in clinical studies, which may prove utilities of mGlu receptor ligands for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. This article reviews recent advances in development of each mGlu receptor ligands and their therapeutic potential.